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The next prototype development kits for Oculus Rift are now shipping, the virtual reality headset manufacturer announced this week. Sales of the $350 second kit have reached 45,000, an increase of 20,000 headsets since April. Pre-orders for the second kit started in March, just before Oculus VR was purchased by Facebook for $2 billion. The kits are expected to reach developers by the week of July 14.

Oculus VR has been busy these last few months. It acquired the Xbox 360 controller design team Carbon Design last week, Steam pioneer Jason Holtman in early June, former Valve VR head Atman Binstock in March and ID Software Co-Founder John Carmack in August.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>dev-kitdevelopmentdevelopment-kitdk2oculusoculus-riftoculus-vrOculusRiftpcWed, 02 Jul 2014 11:00:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2014/03/20/crytek-unveils-10-per-month-cryengine-developer-subscription-pl/http://www.joystiq.com/2014/03/20/crytek-unveils-10-per-month-cryengine-developer-subscription-pl/http://www.joystiq.com/2014/03/20/crytek-unveils-10-per-month-cryengine-developer-subscription-pl/#comments
Crytek may be known for its Crysis and Far Cry series, but the developer also makes a pretty penny by licensing out its proprietary tech for game development, CryEngine. Crytek will now offer a subscription-based model for the latest version of its engine, charging $9.90 USD/euros per month for each CryEngine licensee. The "Engine as a Service" plan starts in May and won't affect the free, non-commercial software development kit offered by Crytek.

Epic Games announced its own subscription model for Unreal Engine 4 yesterday, a plan that amounts to $19 per month plus 5 percent of gross revenue from any commercial product developed with the engine. While Crytek will unveil more details about its subscription plan in the future, its announcement noted that the Engine as a Service version of CryEngine will be "royalty-free." The latest version of CryEngine features Linux support as well as "Physically Based Shading," a Geometry Cache feature to calculate cache-based animations for elements like cloth and fluid dynamics and an image-based lighting system.

An alternative to these subscriptions for some independent developers are middleware development tools like GameMaker: Studio and MonoGame. Sony announced PS4 exporting solutions for those pieces of development software yesterday in addition to PS3, Vita and upcoming PS4 solutions for Unity users.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>cryenginecryengine-3cryengine-3-sdkCrytekdeveloperdevelopmentdevelopment-kitengineengine-as-a-servicegame-engineIndiesdkservicesoftwaresoftware-development-kitsubscriptionThu, 20 Mar 2014 13:30:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2014/03/19/sony-eases-ps4-indie-development-with-new-publishing-tools/http://www.joystiq.com/2014/03/19/sony-eases-ps4-indie-development-with-new-publishing-tools/http://www.joystiq.com/2014/03/19/sony-eases-ps4-indie-development-with-new-publishing-tools/#comments
As if Sony's support of independent developers hasn't been apparent enough, the console manufacturer will make it easier for indies to bring their games to Sony's platforms. The company announced partnerships today to offer PS4 exporting tools for game development software GameMaker: Studio and MonoGame for free to licensed Sony Computer Entertainment developers.

Sony also made "fully-integrated solutions" for PS3 and Vita available for Unity users, with an early access PS4 version arriving on Unity in April. Lastly, the company opted to offer its Authoring Tools Framework as a free, open source download available on GitHub. SCE uses the framework to help craft games like The Last of Us and Beyond: Two Souls.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>authoring-toolsdeveloperdevelopmentdevelopment-kitexportframeworkGameMakergamemaker-studioindiemonogameplaystationplaystation-vitaps3ps4scesoftwareSONYSony-Computer-Entertainmenttoolstowerfall-ascensionunityunity-enginevitayo-yo-gamesyoyo-gamesWed, 19 Mar 2014 17:30:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2013/03/13/microsoft-releases-22-kinect-for-windows-open-source-samplers/http://www.joystiq.com/2013/03/13/microsoft-releases-22-kinect-for-windows-open-source-samplers/http://www.joystiq.com/2013/03/13/microsoft-releases-22-kinect-for-windows-open-source-samplers/#commentsPC developers looking to fiddle around with Microsoft's Kinect peripheral just got a big gimme. Microsoft has released 22 different samples of Kinect for Windows code under an open source licensing agreement, meaning you're free to tinker away to your heart's content - just don't try to pass it off as your own.

What makes this different than the previously widely available software development kit? Microsoft says it has issued these samples for the sake of convenience, allowing fledgling flailers access to bite-sized segments designed for specific functionality and lessons that don't require a lengthy download of the full SDK. Convenient.

Kinect for Windows officially launched on February 1, available now for a suggested retail price of $250 - though some retailers like Amazon and Newegg have it listed on the lower side of $200.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>development-kitkinectkinect-for-windowsmicrosoftpcsdkwindowsxboxWed, 13 Mar 2013 03:00:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2012/04/23/trendy-offering-real-money-for-best-dungeon-defenders-maps/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/04/23/trendy-offering-real-money-for-best-dungeon-defenders-maps/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/04/23/trendy-offering-real-money-for-best-dungeon-defenders-maps/#commentsTrendy Entertainment, the dev behind Dungeon Defenders, is looking to beef up the offerings from that game's free development kit. It's holding a contest, in which it's giving away some real money and prize packs for the best maps made for the game.

To enter, all you have to do is put a map together for the tower defense RPG (here's a guide.) Submit your map to Trendy by June 21, and if it wins both a public vote and a judges' vote you can walk away with $1000, and even get your map included in the game.

The full rules and requirements are over on Trendy's forums. Those of us without any design skills at all will just sit here quietly waiting to see what you put together. Don't mind us.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>contestdesigndevelopment-kitdungeon-defendersmappcsdktrendy-entertainmentMon, 23 Apr 2012 11:45:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2011/05/06/rumor-new-microsoft-console-dev-kits-at-ea/http://www.joystiq.com/2011/05/06/rumor-new-microsoft-console-dev-kits-at-ea/http://www.joystiq.com/2011/05/06/rumor-new-microsoft-console-dev-kits-at-ea/#comments
According to an unnamed source speaking to Develop, development kits for a new Microsoft console are in the offices of one of EA's studios. The source, which does not work for either EA or Microsoft, had no specific information about the hardware except that it came in a PC shell and was shipped to EA last month.

That little information is actually enough to rule out the updated Xbox 360 dev kits revealed last month, since those come in Xbox-shaped cases. The source believes ("but did not have certain information," Develop disclaims) the new console will launch at the end of 2012, which would put it in direct competition with the Wii successor, and, if true, would make an E3 reveal seem likely (again, to compete with the new Nintendo console).

However, a Eurogamer source responded to this Develop article to note that a new Microsoft console probably won't be revealed at E3.

Update: EA's director of corporate communications, Jeff Brown, told IGN that the story was "a total fabrication -- 100 percent not true."

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>developmentdevelopment-kiteaelectronic-artsmicrosoftxboxFri, 06 May 2011 13:35:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2011/04/05/new-xbox-development-kit-is-cheaper-way-cuter/http://www.joystiq.com/2011/04/05/new-xbox-development-kit-is-cheaper-way-cuter/http://www.joystiq.com/2011/04/05/new-xbox-development-kit-is-cheaper-way-cuter/#comments
Microsoft has begun offering developers great and small a new model of the Xbox 360 development kit, pictured above. The new hardware's got a lot to offer game studios -- it's got an undisclosed boost in RAM, larger hard drive, built-in flash memory and a less bulky frame than its predecessor. Its most appealing bonus? According to the kit's press release announcement, the new hardware will come at a "significantly reduced price from its predecessor."

Wait, no, that's not its most appealing bonus. We're pretty sure the aspect that's gonna lead companies to snatch up as many of these new kits as they can is how darn adorable it is. Look at him! He's so tiny. And he's got an equally adorable, optional Sidecar attachment, which enables debugging and emulation! Oh, just look! It's like he's giving it a piggy-back ride.

In an attempt to further diversify the Playstation 3's library of games, Sony has announced a dramatic price cut for the console's software development kit. The Playstation 3 Reference Tool will now be made available to new developers for $10,250 USD, or €7,500 EUR. This is nearly half of what the SDK has previously cost developers.

Sony has also announced plans to further cut the cost of the development kit once more studios have adopted the format. On the surface, it's clear that Sony's struggling to earn new developers for their console, and hopes that incentives like a reduced entry fee for development will bring new blood to the system. On the other hand, decreased developer costs are good for everyone, so we'll eagerly wait to see where this takes the PS3 in the coming months.